The News

The Beaumont City Council considered applications for recommendation from six housing developments seeking Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) during a work session following a council meeting Jan. 10.

Jefferson County commissioners and County Judge Jeff Branick are hoping to shave some utility costs off the budget by making energy efficient changes to county buildings where possible. The largest, and least intrusive, means of energy cost-savings, commissioners agree, will come in the form of upgrading light bulbs in many of the county’s facilities to LED (light emitting diodes) over traditional fluorescent bulbs.

County and municipal leadership met Friday, Jan. 6, to discuss the future of healthcare services in Orange County at the Orange Council Chambers. The meeting followed the Dec. 13 announcement by Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas to terminate all emergency services effective Thursday, Jan. 12.

This will make Orange County the largest county in the state of Texas without a full-service hospital, according to Texas House District 21 Rep. Dade Phelan.

What bothered Flo Edgerly the most about the media coverage regarding West Brook football coach Kevin Flanigan’s very public suspension was not so much what was in the reports but what was not reported.

Known on the street at K-2, spice, fake, fake bake, woo, Kush and a variety of other names, synthetic marijuana continues to plague Southeast Texas. Law enforcement officers believe the chemical compounds contained within the dangerous products, used by manufacturers to mimic the high produced by marijuana, are responsible for three recent deaths in the area.

While we harbor no disrespect for the Wall Street Journal who called us “that scrappy little paper from Southeast Texas,” we prefer to think of ourselves as simple seekers of the truth. We’re of the opinion that headlines and sound bites never tell the whole story. Our readers demand all the facts, facets and flavors of every story or event. And, they expect to be informed, educated and stirred to action.